^ I saved it to my Pocket app. A few quotes:
“It was a huge surprise to everyone, even to his (Iger’s) direct reports,” one former executive told TheWrap, noting that other internal candidates for the job appeared to have been left out of the loop.
Other higher ups, Rice + Mayer, were blindsided.
One investor, who declined to be identified, complained to TheWrap that it was “kind of strange” that Chapek was identified “quite some time ago” but that no replacement for Chapek in his former job was in place. “Despite Bob Chapek’s former domain, Disney’s Parks & Resorts division, being responsible for approximately 40% of the Walt Disney Company’s revenue, no successor has been named,” the investor said. “There are some serious tells here as to the haste with which this decision was made.”
Ironically, one insider said the timing was likely done to quell any speculation about succession, noting that the board of directors wanted to get this done before Thursday’s shareholders meeting and to end the ongoing gossip and rivalry inside the company over the subject.
Others said that this was merely Iger realizing that he wanted to spend his time on the more interesting parts of the job — the creative side — and leave the number-grinding work to Chapek.
